Real Madrid talking points after nightmare loss to CSKA Moscow

The La Liga giants had already secured their berth in the knockout stages as Group G winners and fielded a weakened side but no one would’ve predicted a defeat of this nature.

Fedor Chalov opened the scoring, feinting with his right before curling in with his left from the edge of the box in the 37th minute before Georgy Schennikov added another two minutes before the break.

Arnor Sigurdsson then scored a third to put the game beyond the hosts in the 73rd minute.

When Madrid splurged €46 million on secure Vinicius’ signature as a 17-year-old, eyebrows were raised but it was clear what they were trying to accomplish. The idea was to sign Neymar before he became Neymar and on the evidence of Vinicius’ start to life at the Bernabeu, they’ll be quietly confident they’ve succeeded in doing just that.

The Brazilian became the third-youngest Madrid player to start a Champions League game on Wednesday night and he instantly looked like he belonged on club football’s grandest stage, which is more than can be said of his team-mates.

His electric performance featured some incredible play as his ability to cut inside or just as easily storm towards the byline regularly terrorised CSKA’s defenders while he had no problem getting involved in the build-up play, pulling off a couple of neat flicks along the way.

The 18-year-old remains a raw talent as was noticeable by the fact that, for all his good work, he only tested the keeper once and made just one key pass. At the moment though, he is invaluable to Madrid as one of the few players capable of providing the spark they have so often lacked this season.

It’s no secret that Madrid have been woeful in defence this season, but this was a new low. CSKA became the first team this term to score three goals at the Bernabeu this season.

Yes, Madrid didn’t have a dog in this fight having already secured their progress into the round of 16 but the manner of defeat is no less alarming as a result.

Even though Santiago Solari fielded several fringe players, there was also a generous spattering of seasoned veterans in the starting XI. Meanwhile, they were no better when the likes of Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos took to the pitch in the second half.

The central defensive pairing of Jesus Vallejo and Javi Sanchez always looked vulnerable but then again, has the preferred duo of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos inspired confidence this season?

There appears to be a fundamental problem in the way Los Blancos defend while they certainly weren’t helped by the presence of an equally inexperienced midfield double pivot of Federico Valverde and Marcos Llorente ahead of them.

Perhaps Solari should’ve known better. It’s one thing to give a few youngsters a chance but maybe he went a step to far by using them as the complete make up of the team’s defensive core. It was still CSKA in the Champions League, not Melilla in Copa del Rey.

Santiago Solari.

REAL TRAGEDY

Football can be cruel sometimes and CSKA were the latest victims of its merciless nature. The Russian side had a Europa League spot to play for at the Bernabeu and their performance exceeded theirs or anyone else’s expectations.

Having beaten Madrid 1-0 with 10 men in Moscow, they completed the double over the tournament’s champions in four of the last five years. They did it in style as well, comprehensively beating the Spanish giants 3-0 in their own backyard but somehow found themselves finish bottom of Group G.

Viktoria Plzen snatched third place instead, winning 2-1 at home against Roma. The Czech outfit finished with a goal difference eight worse than CSKA but finished above them on the head-to-head rule.

It’s a peculiar scenario and the Russian side have every right to feel hard done by.

‘Winners’? CSKA Moscow.

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Lucas Moura's famous goal has Tottenham dreaming of glory in second half of season

Back in December 2004, on the final day of the Champions League group stage, Liverpool needed to beat Olympiakos by two clear goals at Anfield to qualify for the Round of 16.

They were 2-1 up late in the game with hope fading when Steven Gerrard scored a famous piledriver, delivering on a promise he’d made before the game.

“I don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning in the UEFA Cup.”

Lucas Moura’s goal against Barcelona on Tuesday was nowhere near as good as Gerrard’s from 14 years ago – though, if it leads to Tottenham winning the Champions League, it would prove to be as much a fairytale moment in a miraculous cup-winning run – but the significance was quite the same.

Spurs were meant to move into their new stadium to begin this season, only for that move to be repeatedly delayed.

As fate would have it, the club now expect New White Hart Lane to be ready by February at the latest – though it remains touch and go, with club chairman Daniel Levy having announced another delay on Wednesday which means that a January 13 fixture against Manchester United will not be the stadium’s bow.

OFFICIAL: Tottenham have announced that their Premier League game vs. Man United on January 13th will be played at Wembley, as their new stadium is not yet ready. pic.twitter.com/wk1tUpBfwQ

The dates that will be circled on the calendars of everyone involved with Spurs are now February 12th and 13th. That’s when Spurs will host a Round of 16 fixture in the Champions League, instead of playing a Europa League Round of 32 fixture on February 14. It would not have been a Valentine’s Day the club would have loved.

Instead, if all goes to the now-revised plan, it could be Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Paris Saint-Germain in the new stadium’s first big fixture.

Or defending champions Real Madrid, with the reigning Ballon d’Or winner and former Spurs favourite Luka Modric – not to mention Gareth Bale, another former White Hart Lane hero.

All this speculation may end up being purely academic; New White Hart Lane may not be ready in time, and Spurs may need another stunning result like Tuesday’s to ensure that Champions League football visits their new stadium this season. Wembley may just have to do.

So much about this Spurs season is closely linked with their new stadium. That they hadn’t moved in to start the season, as initially expected, contributed to the sense of gloom of the early part of the campaign, as much as the seemingly middling displays they were putting in.

The latest wave of optimism has come along with the endgame of their move finally drawing close, even after Wednesday’s latest update.

But that optimism has also come thanks to a series of results from a tough run of fixtures that has kept Spurs’ hopes of making waves this season alive. Chelsea, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Barcelona, and at the end of all that, Tottenham are third in the Premier League, and into the knockout stages of the Champions League.

They would have preferred to have beaten North London derby rivals Arsenal, of course, but all in all it’s a state of affairs that has undoubtedly left Spurs happy.

They’re contenders for the league title. Tuesday’s draw against Barcelona has Harry Kane believing they’re contenders in Europe, too. There is a Carabao Cup quarter-final coming up in a week – against Arsenal, no less.

Tottenham didn’t want to be waking up on Wednesday morning in the Europa League. Instead, thanks to that Moura goal, with the possibilities now endless, they’ve woken up in dreamland.

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Clubs

Paris St Germain captain Thiago Silva admits he was scared that qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League was out of reach.

PSG secured their progress to the knockout stages as Group C winners following a 4-1 victory at Red Star Belgrade.

The Ligue 1 side were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to Edinson Cavani’s early finish and a fine goal from the fit-again Neymar, both of which were set up by Kylian Mbappe.

Red Star then reduced the deficit through Marko Gobeljic’s 56th-minute volley, before Marquinhos scored a header in the 74th minute and Mbappe, teed up by Neymar, slotted in PSG’s fourth in stoppage time.

Thiago told L’Equipe: “The goal is achieved. I was a little scared this year that we do not go to the round of 16 because it was difficult. But in the difficulty, there are positive things.

“I’m happy with the last matches. I think mentally, since Naples, I have changed a lot. The draw in Naples was my fault. For the Liverpool game, I pushed the players a lot because I felt they needed them.

“If we had conceded a draw against Liverpool, we were almost eliminated. But we managed to win against a team that can still be a finalist this season.”

The Brazilian hailed the performance against Red Star and hopes to take the positives from the match forward to the rest of the season.

“Today was a little easier but when Belgrade scored, we stayed calm, patient,” he added.

“I feel we played more like a team. I hope we will continue like this until the end of the season.”

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